Thriller A Pete Wentz Vamp Story
by XDeliciouslyxEmOriFicX
Summary: Pete has a strange fascination with a mortal girl and longs to find out more about her. However, his friends are sure that she has something to do with the strange occurences that were happening lately.
1. Important Info

Pete Wentz  
Vampire/Vampire Hunter  
Special Ability: Mind-reading.  
Role: Our plotting main character whose mind remains a mystery. He has a growing infatuation with a girl he's never met, spoken to, or approached physically.  
26 years old.

Amber  
Mortal  
Role: A mysterious but very sarcastic girl who lives most of her life in the shadowed places in a private world to others...until she meets Pete.  
23 years old.

Patrick Stump  
Mortal/Vampire Hunter  
Role: The busy and self-sufficient "mad scientist" of the group, as Pete likes to say. Can be clueless sometimes, especially in non-vampire situations.  
22 years old.

Jess Krausswick  
Half Breed- ½ vampire, ½ mortal/Vampire Hunter  
Special Ability: Lie-Detecting.  
Role: Patrick's right hand woman. Smart, funny, and slightly sarcastic. She never lets the fact that she's a half-breed bring her down. She has enough power in her mind to kick your ass mentally and physically. Secretly is in love with Patrick. Shhhhh.  
21 years old.


	2. Introduction

_I watched her disappear that night into the land of shadows and darkness. A young girl; mortal. She'd venture out into the city, through the streets and alleyways swept with creatures of the night begging for a taste of pure mortal blood. I beared a grave hatred for the creatures that steal those lives, simply for the satisfaction of drinking a filling meal...  
__And knowing that I'm one of them... it disgusts me. I disgust me. But I must embrace this being...and fight away the nightly parasites.  
__I have to get revenge on those who turned against me; those who walk the shadowed places, forgotten by the sun...but there is another thing I've found to be my purpose...and that's to protect the ones I **love**.

* * *

_"Where has he gone?" boomed the loud voice of a small man as he woke in a panic to find that it was nearly morning and his vampire comrade was nowhere to be found. A slightly taller man stood beside him, glasses rimmed around his eyes, and a cross necklace wrapped around his neck. He spoke softly, "Patrick, do you think he actually went after her this time?" 

A huge exhale came from the smaller man, Patrick, as he replied, "Again? Does he ever think before he just dashes off with out a single word? Jeez, he could at least leave a note or something..."

"Sure," the other man agreed, while adjusting his glasses.

"You should know by now that I have my reasons for keeping my whereabouts silent," a worn voice sounded from directly behind the two men from before. Patrick jumped, startled by the third member of their conversation.

Patrick sighed and muttered, "Welcome back, Pete. You always have a way of appearing when I least expect it."

"Serves you right for talking about me," he lashed back while leaning against the kitchen counter top, looking rather bored. Patrick rolled his eyes and muttered silently, "What a drama queen..."

"Hey, I heard that!" Pete retorted with a smart-alecky attitude.

"Where'd you follow her this time?" Andy asked ignoring their petty comments to each other. Pete glared and mumbled, "I wasn't following her. I was checking to make sure our base was safe...and then I saw her!"

"So, you're still chasing that mystery broad huh? Do you ever intend on letting her see your face? Or are you ashamed that she'll be afraid of you if she sees that you're a vampire?" said a female voice as a slim girl with shoulder length hair walked into the barely lit room and entered the conversation.

Pete said nothing. He simply growled and stomped towards his room. This was followed by the sound of a coffin slamming shut.

Patrick sighed as the girl slid herself onto the counter and he commented, "Great job, Jess. You managed to piss him off and now he won't tell us anything."

Jess shrugged and replied, "I didn't piss him off any more than you two did. If you guys really want to get information about that girl, why don't you just ask me? I've done my homework, you know."

Andy and Patrick's focus switched to Jess now as Andy asked, "Who is she?"

"Her name is Amber and she's a mortal," Jess responded in a whisper, knowing Pete is probably listening in on their conversation.

"A mortal, you say?" Andy repeated as he exchanged an uneasy look with Patrick, who wore the same expression.

"Yes, I'm not sure why he is so fascinated with her so much. It kind of makes you wonder, huh? Well, apparently she has a strange hobby of walking around here at night and he wants to know why. That's all I've narrowed it down to. Otherwise, she just looks like a normal girl."

"Do you think she's a hunter?" Patrick asked logically. Jess shrugged and muttered, "She definitely has some tie to the weird occurrences lately..."

"Sounds like you're really on top of things for once," he chuckled modestly.

"Only because I learned from the very best!" she complimented and patted him hard on the back.

He cringed at her strength and groaned, "Ouch."

Jess bit her lip shyly and apologized, "Sorry, Patrick. I forget how strong I am sometimes."

"No problem," he grinned as he stood straight and continued, "Well, we might as well get a good night's before we try figuring anything out. Good night."

Jess and Andy sighed before walking towards their sleeping chambers. Jess however became distracted by the strange sound coming from Pete's room. She sighed when she was close enough to hear what the sound was.

"Stay away! N-No!"

"It looks like he's having nightmares again," she muttered to herself before tiptoeing to Patrick's room to find him working on gadgets again.

"So much for sleeping, you hypocrite," she commented when she walked in the room. Patrick turned and smiled guiltily, "Yeah, I remembered something I forgot to fix my gun."

"Well, let me help you then," she insisted as she picked up a screwdriver and tightened up a loose screw that was clearly the reason it wasn't working. Patrick grinned sheepishly and muttered a nervous, "Thank you."

"No problem," she replied shyly before heading towards the door and saying, "Go to bed, Patrick. There's no reason for you to lose sleep. Goodnight."  
Patrick exhaled exhaustedly and put his tools away before heading to his room.


	3. The Unraveling Secrets

It wasn't until sunrise that Amber returned to her compact quarters, located in a old post office building on the outskirts of the city. Her face was solid; as if she felt no emotions. Her eyes shifted in a way that scanned the halls to make sure that no one was following her. Once, she was satisfied, she walked towards the elevators, never taking a single glimpse at the remains of this once lively office. She pressed the button to open the door where she stepped inside and pressed a white button labeled with a 'B' for basement.  
When the lift reached its lowest level, the doors opened to reveal a space that was probably once used as a mailroom, now adorning the cluttered appearance of a temporary living space.  
Amber exhaled as she threw her bag across the room tiredly, plopping herself on her futon and closing her eyes for a minute's rest. That is, until she noticed the note resting beside her bed frame. Jerking upwards, she ripped the note from its original place and skimmed over the writing. Her nose crinkled at the familiar use of blood as ink as she read the letter out loud mockingly,

_"To my dearest sister,  
I must say that I **greatly **appreciate your obedience to the 'unnerving' acts that are necessary for The redemption.  
I do hope that you'll rethink our proposition and proudly accept the responsibility that mother failed to comprehend.  
Forever,  
William_"

Amber dropped the note apathetically and scoffed, "I'm not falling for that bullshit logic of yours, William."  
Not expecting an answer after she heard the echo of her voice hit the walls, she wondered if she'd ever find a way out of this game of theirs...the vampires. They're just so deceiving, she thought ornery to herself, emphasizing a rage against the undead corpses that fed off the lives of her own flesh and blood.  
She closed her eyes and tried falling asleep, for she knew it wouldn't be long until William and his minions would show up uninvited to crash the party.

The hideout was quiet that evening. Patrick hadn't slept, for he spent the day trying to figure out the connection between this mystery girl and the dandies. But his research has only helped him so much before he found himself back to square one.  
By this time, he'd given up on the gathered information and decided to question what Pete knew about the girl. He just hoped that Pete wouldn't hold anything back from him. With the way he'd been acting lately, it wouldn't be a surprise if he knew something that Patrick didn't.  
Patrick's thoughts raced mathematically as he snuck out of his room and over to a wooden box, a coffin, located in the middle of the den. His breathing was sharp, one breath after the other as he extended his hand out to up the lid. This was a rather crucial part of Patrick's job...waking the vampire.  
He knew well of Pete's bloodlust and how it rages out of control when he first wakes up. Sliding the lid off carefully, Patrick kept his distance from the restful Pete and backed into the kitchen to prepare the blend.  
After quietly chopping up the garlic and mixing in the spices and holy water, Patrick placed all the ingredients into the blender, where it quickly softened into a thick reddish shake.  
That's when the sound of a hoarse voice murmured from the den and a body rose up from the coffin. Pete, in his tired looking dead form, bared his sharp fangs at the little light that came from the blocked off window, before slithering over and drinking his shake. Red liquid oozed out the sides of his mouth, as Patrick watched him roughly.  
As Pete swallowed the remains of his cup, he asked, "So...what did you want?"  
Patrick gulped and asked indirectly, "I was wondering...if you had any information on Amber."  
Pete's dark eyes shifted strangely and he alleged suspiciously, "Why do you want to know about her?"  
Patrick bit his lip and tried to think of an easy way to put it when Pete interrupted him with a stubborn, "I know what you're thinking...but she's not assisting the dandies. Leave her alone."  
Patrick eyed him conspicuously, knowing that Pete was in fact hiding something from him.  
But he'd get to the bottom of things soon enough.


	4. If You Want Blood, You Got It

_I knew Patrick was set on figuring me out but I wasn't about to let him win that argument. I glared at him before sinking back into the den, where I then ignored his further questions.  
"Patrick, you're not going to pin everyone on her like we already do Beckett. Besides, how would she be involved with the dandies? She's a girl."  
That was just my arrogance talking. Patrick was onto something, I just didn't want to believe it...  
I just wanted to see her again...and maybe talk to her?  
God, I was acting like a high school boy on his first date to homecoming. A nervous wreck.  
"Pete, you're being totally unreasonable. You're letting your feelings for this girl get in the way of business and that's not cool, man! Dicks before Chicks, we agreed on that remember?" Patrick argued defensively, earning a world-class groan in response.  
"Dude, I don't want to fucking argue right now," I said sternly as I stood up and gave him a sharp stare that said, "Don't you fucking dare."  
But Patrick didn't give up but raised his voice and declared, "you can't fight the truth, Pete! You're just angry that your little girlfriend might be a villain!"  
The anger flickered throughout my body and with one swift motion, I appariated in front of Patrick and took a hold of his collar, shoving him against the cabinets and whispered viciously, "Go ahead and say that again to my face."  
Patrick's glare held strongly, as he shoved me a good foot and asserted, "You don't scare me, Pete. Just disappoint me."  
And he trudged off carelessly, leaving me annoyed and hurt. The tension just pissed me off, so I appariated somewhere quiet so I could calm down.  
I sat alone on the rooftops and clenched my fists as the thoughts just overwhelmed me with anger.  
I shut my eyes tightly, both fists clenched, as I punched a brick wall with all my might, sending it 100 feet into the air where it exploded into a million pieces.  
I panted sadistically before clambering down a pipe drain into an alleyway. I quickly shoved my hands in my pockets and started wandering down the street, thinking in metaphors as a way to slow time.  
I stared straight down the path; ignoring the ugly faces that passed me by. But that's when I saw somebody standing in the middle of the street, while a huge semi-truck was speeding at them. Deciding that this was my chance, I appariated quickly and shoved the person 10 feet away, before jumping over the height of the truck as it sped away.  
"Hey wise ass, watch where the fuck you're going!" the high voice of a female shouted at passing truck.  
My head turned swiftly to identify the voice.. I stared for a few moments, taking in the shock of who I just saved.  
It was that girl, Amber...and man, she looked furious.  
"What the hell are you looking at?" she demanded fiercely before taking a closer look at who came to her rescue. A smile crept over my face, making her fairly light complexion go deathly pale.  
"Please don't hurt me," she begged now, her voice shaking a little before she opened her mouth and contradicted, "You saved me!"  
I shook my head and said modestly, "Don't worry about it. Forget you ever saw me," before I leapt 50 feet onto an overhang.  
"Wait, what's your name?" she asked frantically. I stared peculiarly before answering, "The name is Pete!" before disappearing out of sight._

"Pete..." I repeated slowly. I smiled briefly before remembering where I was going. Then I sprinted to the alleyway where I was supposed to meet William and the others.  
"So, we're going to use her to find the hideout," William discussed absentmindedly to Brendon and the rest of his minions, "And while he's distracted with her, we'll raid the place! A killing spree!"  
I bit my lip curiously as wanting to know what they were talking about but ignored it and approached them cautiously, being the only human, "William?"  
"Why, look who decided to show up? Just the person I was looking for!" he exclaimed sarcastically as he tossed me a stake. I caught it and stared at it confusedly. What did he want me to do now?  
His eyes shot to me and a creepy smile fluttered onto his narrow face. A sick feeling came into the pit of my stomach as I asked, "What's the plan?"  
"Operation infiltrate secret headquarters. This is going to be up to you, little sister."  
Uh oh. I suddenly had a bad feeling about this. I didn't know anything about this war and William never wanted to fill me in on the details. What are they fighting for?  
My mind was whirling with thoughts when William interrupted, "I want you to spy on the enemy."  
My insides twisted and suddenly, I didn't want to be involved anymore.  
"You don't have a choice, I'm afraid," William answered, reading my doubtful thoughts. I glared at him and yelled, "Why do you act like this, Bill? I hate being your lackey and you know that! So why do you drag me into this? Are you too scared of them that you can't even do your own job?"  
He grinned mysteriously in a way that made me disgusted. He's so smug. It makes me wanna wipe that off his face for once.  
William snickered, "But darling, we're a team."  
I sent a death look at him and retorted bitterly, "No Bill, we're not a team at all. The definition of a team is to work together. You see, the way you work is sending everyone else to do the dirty work for you."  
His smug look faded into an angry scowl as he moved forward and with one swift movement, his hand slapped hard across my cheek. I winced as the area stung wildly. It felt equivalent to having a frying pan chucked at your face.  
"Don't you dare talk nonsense. You know, I'm starting to think you're becoming one of _them_. And you know what happens to _them _right?" he threatened furiously. It scared me how quickly he could change from arrogant to maniacal in merely a second. I couldn't help but give into his demand. After all, he's the only person who accepts me and treats me well as long as I'm cooperative...but my safety was never assured.  
"What do you want me to do?" I asked reluctantly. He grinned and bent over and whispered the plan in my ear, and I nodded.  
"Well?" he stated once I agreed, "Let's get this plan into action then."  
It was unbelievable how quickly things went into action. Everything happened so fast.  
And all it took was one flick William's wrist lightly before I was surrounded by his minions. They all came at me at once, and I blacked out.


	5. Do you know what I'm seeing

"The bathroom's open," Jess called out as she walked out followed by a trail of steam. Her hair was brushed wetly to the side, signifying she'd finished her shower. Joe took this as a sign and hopped off the couch giddily and murmured, "Finally. I have to pee like a race horse!"  
Jess rolled her eyes at his comment and sat down on the couch beside Patrick, where an orange cat jumped onto her lap and purred voluptuously. She stroked the cat's fur before whispering something in its ear while looking over at Patrick. The cat licked his lips and prowled over to Patrick, who was tiredly resting his head on the arm of the furniture, staring at the wall blankly.  
The cat jumped from his lap and onto the arm before wrapping his little body around Patrick's neck like a scarf. Jess giggled as Patrick smiled and petted the cat childishly. He laughed before tugging the cat back onto his lap where it purred and curled into a ball.  
But this was interrupted a harsh rap on the wall as Pete skulked into the room. Jess frowned at his mess intrusion and commented, "Do you always have to be so obnoxious when you enter the room? Jeez..."  
Pete glared and hissed, "Why are you letting that thing lay on you?"  
"Just because you hate cats doesn't mean you get to pick on Tum-" she started to retort when Pete interrupted with, "I don't hate all cats, just your cat!"  
"Only because TumTum is smarter than you and actually listens to what I tell him," she retorted. Patrick rolled his eyes and said, "Pete, leave the cat alone. He never did anything to you so why do you hate him so much?"  
"I can hear his cat thoughts," Pete whispered seriously earning a laugh from everyone in the room. He pouted bitterly and shouted, "I'm serious! That cat is plotting against me! He tried to bite me in my sleep!"  
"Aww Pete, he takes after you," Jess cooed girlishly. Pete exhaled and muttered, "You are so immature."  
"Hey, I'm not the one holding grudges against cats," she replied sarcastically. Jess smirked as she stood up with the cat on her shoulder, and walked towards her chamber, leaving Patrick, Andy, and Pete in silence.  
Patrick chuckled and gave Pete a knowing look and retorted, "She has a point, you know."  
Pete grinned and said, "Yeah, I just like stirring things up with her. She's like the chick version of you."  
Patrick half-smiled while adjusting his hat, before standing up and announcing, "We're going hunting today."  
Pete jumped up sequentially and enthused, "Finally! It's been weeks!"  
Patrick sighed and said, "That's because last time, we nearly died after you got arrested. But I've finally developed a device that will protect us from those situations." **(Note Patrick's not a vampire. He didn't get bitten like he did in the music note)**  
Pete bared a look of curiosity and asked, "What is it?"  
"Well," Patrick looked around sheepishly before answering, "I call it the receiver."  
He pulled out a thin metal object out of his pocket and placed it in his ear, "It's a telecommunicating device that allows our teammates to hear our thoughts so we don't give away our hiding spots and at the same time, it sends negative signals to vampires so they can't overhear anything. It's pretty handy to have since that's how the Dandies figured us out before."  
Andy and Pete nodded as Patrick handed them each a tiny device but warned significantly, "You can never ever tell anyone outside of the team that you're wearing these. It's extremely important that we keep this a secret. You got that?"  
The men nodded as Patrick instructed, "Alright, now go prepare yourselves for some serious ass-whooping. I'm going to inform Jess about this gadget."  
Pete and Andy waltzed into the training room and grabbed a few stakes off the wall. Pete watched as Andy stared at the target aggressively and hurled the wooden stake towards it. The stake stabbed through the heart of the target, and he smiled.  
Pete's stake, on the other hand, kept penetrating the throat and the head of the target. Pete exhaled, disappointed at himself, but kept trying until his practice was interrupted by a chilling scream.  
His head whipped around, trying to sense where it came from when Andy asked, "What are you doing?"  
"Didn't you hear that scream?" Pete panted, between darting in and out of all the rooms in the hideout searching for cause.  
"No," Andy mumbled a little bit creeped out by Pete's seriousness. Jess came spiraling out of her room and shrieked, "I heard it too, Pete!"  
"Patrick!" Pete shouted in a panicked way, making Patrick's bones shiver as he scampered to see what was wrong.  
"I sense trouble! Let's go!" Pete huffed as he sprinted around the house, tossing guns and equipment towards everyone. Joe, meanwhile, was hurriedly pulling on his clothes as he skittered out of the bathroom with his pants halfway on.  
Jess grabbed Patrick and Andy's arms and disapparated. Meanwhile, Pete drug Joe out of the bathroom and disapparated them to scene of the crime. The Alley.  
"Get away from me!" Amber cried as vampires clung to her skin like ticks. They'd busted open her lip and were lusting for her blood as they fought each other to get close.  
"Hey, back away from the girl!" Pete shouted furiously as the vampires looked at him with death written across their faces. Then they all started hurling themselves his direction knocking him backwards onto the ground.  
Amber stood petrified and sick to her stomach as she leaned against the wall and fainted onto the ground. Jess ran to her aid but only after her head clattered against the ground.  
Jess was about to disapparate her to somewhere safe when two arms strangled her from behind. She gritted her teeth together viciously as she leapt 100 feet backwards, crushing the vampire against the brick wall. She swiftly obtained the stake from her belt and pitched them at a group of vampires, hitting each one of them in the heart before they exploded into ashes.  
She glanced up momentarily to witness Pete on a killing rampage, staking right and left and taking a bite everywhere he could.  
Jess cringed and decided to take further action as more vampires continued appearing.  
She viciously staked a balding vampire square between the eyes before hearing a yell; Spinning violently around, she saw Pete fall to his knees.  
"Shit!' she thought as she battled, punched, kicked and staked her way through the vampire mob. Being only a half-bred vampire of the group, it was a huge deal if the best fighter in the group was injured. After shooting a slutty looking vampire in the temple with her crossbow, she finally reached him. He had a stake in his leg and he looked like he was about to pass out.  
Then before she knew it, Jess was picked up by her throat and shoved against the wall. As she struggled to breath, she mustered up enough strength to give a sickening blow to the very strong, very large vampire's skull. He staggered back and let her go; gasping, as she stood.  
The vampire readied for another attack but before Jess could react, the vampire bolted forward, a silver arrow stabbed through its chest as it turned to dust.  
"Dust eater..." Pete gasped, standing up, breathing heavily.  
Jess sighed in relief and showed her appreciation by commenting, "Wow, it looks like you're not entirely useless. Thanks for saving me."  
"No problem," he replied nonchalantly as he extended his hand to Patrick who had been tackled by some vampires earlier, all whom were dead now.  
"Sorry I couldn't be your superman, Jess," Patrick said ashamedly. Jess raised an eyebrow and said, "It's fine, Trick. You're only human. I don't expect you to save my life. I'm supposed to save yours."  
Patrick blushed and muttered, "That is so backwards."  
Jess grinned bearing her fangs as she walked toward Amber and said, "Pete, take Amber to the hide out. She's out cold."  
Pete hobbled over without a word as he kneeled down on his good leg and thrust his hands underneath Amber's torso. Picking her up gently, he disapparated back to the hideout, where the others soon met up with him.  
"Pete, let me see your leg," Patrick demanded as he shuffled into the house. Pete cringed at the pain and stubbornly shouted, "Don't touch it!"  
Patrick rolled his eyes and looked as if he were about to request for something when Jess shouted, "I've already got you covered, Trick!" as a roll of tape and gauze flew at him from across the room.  
He mouthed the word, "Thank you," at her before focusing on Pete's leg, where the stake remained impaled in his thigh.  
"Well, now that we've got her in the house...what are we going to do with her?" Patrick asked faintly as he wiped down Pete's leg with a wet cloth. Pete exhaled and said, "There's only one thing we can do now."  
"What is that?" Patrick asked suddenly curious.  
"We can't let her leave."


	6. Waking Up In Paradise

I awoke to the sound of a furnace buzzing and hushed murmurs coming from nearby. My memory was rather scarce but the voice in my head assured me that I was where I was supposed to be. As I sat up to examine my surroundings, I saw that I wasn't alone.

"Amber," spoke a thin girl sternly with no expression as her eyes glanced up from the floor and fixated themselves onto me. She stood promptly at the edge of the bed. She was very attractive; shoulder-length brown hair that graced her flawless cheekbones. She was small, not much taller than me, but she was very slender, despite the petite size. Her skin was like marble, shining exquisitely in the brief light that shone through the window. Her complexion was white, for the most part, but possessed a human-like blush to such an inhumanly beautiful appearance.

But aside from her beauty, the area around her nourished a levitating aura of discomfort. Nervously, she shifted her eyes towards the doorway, where I saw that three guys watched curiously with caution, as the girl whipped her head towards them and yelled, "Andy..Joe... I advise you to leave before one of you gets hurt...Patrick, you may stay."

The boys skittered away except one, who looked rather distinct with his funny hat and sideburns as he shuffled forward and stood next to the mystical stranger. She sighed and turned her focus on me, her eyes having some weird mind effect that held my attention towards her against my own will. It was then when I felt a tingle across my entire body as my eyes took notice of her barely visible fangs and shimmering hazel eyes.

"Do you remember anything?" she asked pleasantly despite he intimidating nature. Dumbfounded, I stuttered, "W-who are you and how do you know my name? How did I get here?"

She shut her eyes and answered, "I'm positive that this will all make sense to you in short time. My name is Jess and this is Patrick," while pointing to the boy beside her, who stared vigilantly, seeming utterly fascinated by me. It made me feel awkward. It makes me wonder what a lab rat must feel like...

After looking down and realizing that I was wearing someone else's clothes, I stubbornly demanded, "Explain to me exactly how I got here!"  
Jess crinkled her nose and began to retort some snide remark when Patrick flailed and covered her mouth, asking, "What's the last thing you remember doing?"

I sat back down and thought about it. I remembered a brief quote that informed me of the mission but I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to pull it off. William didn't tell me anything. He just simply said, "Operation infiltrate secret headquarters."

But what did that mean?!

After minutes of arguing with my confusion, I huffed out, "I was attacked by a group of vampires in an alley."

Patrick stared peculiarly before asking, "Do you remember anything before that?"

"I was supposed to meet with my brother," I stumbled half-truthfully, skimping on the details, "for lunch."

Patrick nodded and rambled, "I see...well, that's all we need to know! Feel free to make yourself at home here while we isolate th-"

"Wait a second! What makes you think I'm going to stay here? I'm going home," I interrupted as I stood up abruptly, only to fall back down onto the bed due to the unbearable pain I'd caused to my immobilized ankle. Whimpering on the bed, I shot Patrick a long hard glare.

Patrick's eyes widened and he argued, "We saved your life!"

Jess held him back from getting too worked up as she stepped forward sending a gaze my direction. My skin hardened and my body could no longer move within my control. I was frozen in place as she explained, "Look, we can't let you leave. You're in a secret location that cannot be exposed to anybody. Besides, we found the stake in your book bag. You knew about those vampires! Who do you work for and why were you attacked by that specific group?"

She unfroze me, allowing me to stumble back onto the bed where I stuttered, "W-what are you talking about? I don't work for anyone! I don't even know who you people are!"

She glared fiercely and said, "You're lying! Who are you after?"

"My brother gave me that stake so I could protect myself from situations like that one," I lied intuitively, not letting any precarious detail be slipped out, before sighing hopelessly and looking at my injuries, I muttered, "It obviously didn't do me any good, though..."

After a few minutes, her gaze lightened up as she forecasted to Patrick, "Her mind's clean, Trick. She's telling the truth."

He nodded and she turned walk out of the room before looking at me, and enlightening me by saying , "I apologize for the rash assumption but we've gotta be a little careful about mortals. Anyways, please feel comfortable while staying here. It's only temporary until we find a reason to let you go."

They both walked out of the room at the same time, leaving me confused and angry. What reason did they have for keeping me here like this?

I staggered clumsily off the bed and over to my book bag where I dumped everything out in an attempt to figure out if William had left me anything that would hint to what my mission was.  
Inside the bag, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a few notebooks, pencils, money, and a stake.

I sighed knowingly, a part of me hoping that William had abandoned me. Anyone that wasn't on the side he was on would be considered an angel. And perhaps it was time for me to be independent. Relying on a vampire brother like Bill was like a one-way ticket straight to hell.

He was going to kill me one day. I knew that much. Being around him was unlike anything. He may be my brother but it doesn't change the fact that he's not human and that he **hated **my blood. He hated mortals with a passion. From the time I was born, I had suffered the guilt that he and my dad pressed on me and my mother. But now that she's been dead for three years, Bill's been turned into a bloodthirsty monster. He's killed everyone I've ever known, leaving their corpses at my doorstep. Horrific images forever plastered into my mind. I've seen it all...

To others, it may appear like I'm not trying to get out...but this is a lifestyle I've grown to be accustomed to, whether or not it's **_kosher_**.

I stood up and hobbled into the hall, eying the few pictures they had on the walls. These people were vampire hunters...

For some reason, this information seemed to get my blood rushing and I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. I didn't want to think about anymore...but it felt extremely awkward being in a house of people I didn't know.

I walked down the hall to find some sort of den, with boxes piled high on the walls, with a couch and TV in the middle. Sitting on the couch were the two rough looking men from earlier.

One with curly brown hair styled in a small fro looked up alertly while the other one watched the TV screen intently, pretending not to notice or simply not caring. I raised an eyebrow at the weird looking man with outstanding blue eyes, making him frown before he punched the other guy on the leg to get his attention. Now the other guys attention, with long hair and glasses, was focused on me. I stood awkwardly before muttering, "Hi, my name is Amber."

The curly haired guy smiled at his friend before saying, "The name's Joe. And this is Andy!"

Andy did a little nod and I smiled as I went and sat in between them and asked curiously, "So...why do you guys hunt vampires?"

Joe bit his lip in thought as he started at the wall while Andy raised an eyebrow and said, "Because it's fun."

Joe smiled and agreed, "Yeah, it feels good to know we're replacing the justice system when it comes to protecting the innocent."

"But you have vampires on your team..."

They stared at me nervously before Andy muttered, "It's not the vampires we're fighting; it's the bloodsuckers. Not all vampires are bloodsuckers. Why do you ask?"

I leaned back and exhaled, "Just wondering...you know, since I was attacked by vampires and all." Only not really. Just wondering because I happen to be related to a vampire and would like to know if they're all like that for my own safety.

Joe smirked and said, "We actually happen to have a couple on our team, you know..."

"You mean there's more than one?"

Joe smiled and said, "Jess is a half-breed. That's when a vampire and a human commingle, and then tadah! You get a half-breed. But you see, although she doesn't have any characteristics of true vampire abilities, she's lucky to have such a unique gift equipped in her."

"And what's that?" I asked, suddenly interested in this topic of conversation. Andy grinned before enthusing eerily, "She can dig through the minds and memories of mortals and tell if they're lying or not."

My heart seemed to stop as the fear crept over me. I wondered to myself hastily, "Could she tell I was lying earlier? Why didn't she say anything?" But my mind sifted back to the explanation Joe and Andy were giving me about the whole workings of vampires. However, something caught my attention.

In mid-conversation, a breeze of icy cold wind had brushed past me, creating a wave of chills across my skin. I looked up briefly to see a blurred image sweep around the corner of the plastic-lined bar table that resided in the middle of the this large room that appeared to be set up like a studio. Curiosity swept me from my pleasant seat in the conversation as I stood up and I hobbled over to the countertop where the person stood with their back turned from me as they busied themselves with cutting up ingredients to a concoction unknown to me.

"Excuse me," I asked politely. A part of me wanted to know who this person was and why they were stomping away from the rest of the group. The boy standing there didn't acknowledge my request whatsoever as he continued cutting up onions, garlic, while adding various other herbs and spices that I'd never seen before into a blender.

I watched observantly as he spliced the ingredients and ingested them swiftly before darting out of the kitchen after merely glancing up at me once or twice with haste... or was that fear?

Either way, he looked oddly familiar to me so I went with my gut reaction and dashed uncouthly towards him where I mouthed out, "You can't ignore me forever, you know."

"What do you want?" he growled irritatedly. It was clearly evident now that he was **trying **to avoid me. Too bad, I just wasn't the kind of person to let something like that go.

"Pete," the name slipped out of my mouth firmly yet it took me a moment to notice that I even said it. Hell, I wasn't even aware of who I was speaking to until I said it! That moment, my one-sided memory remembered him saving my life the day before. I couldn't help but stare at his features, even with his angry reaction. He was remarkably handsome with his flawless tanned skin shining with the same granite texture as Jess's. His eyes were a warm colored light brown and there was a slight indication of facial hair outlining his chiseled cheekbones. His beauty threw me off guard and I couldn't find the right words to say to such a person. My insides boggled up. I saw thoroughly that he was no longer squinting at me but a panicked expression had made its way across his face as he knocked me backwards into the wall, trying to make a rampant escape from this awkward situation.

My mind raced the million words I could say that would keep him from running away. Incidentally, my mind was quicker than I gave myself credit for. However, its turns out that I ended up blurting out the first thing that came to my mind. I am an idiot.

"How are you?" I cried, louder than I'd intended. I covered my mouth, mortified as Pete stopped in his tracks, turned around slowly, and raised his eyebrows smoothly as if asking himself, 'did-she-seriously-just-say-that?'. The heat from earlier had risen back in my cheeks as I anxiously rambled, "That wasn't what I meant to say..."

He chuckled inaudibly and stared at me with curiosity plastered on his cleanly shaven face. I swallowed, not very sure of what exactly drew me over to bother him in the first place. The words twisted their way onto my tongue as I chuckled nervously, "I wanted to thank you for...you know, saving my life twice in one days work."

His face blushed bright red with surprise and at that moment, the initial question that should have entered my mind was "Does he like me?" but instead responded with the smart alecky question of, "Vampires don't blush...do they?" I guess I never was your average girl, come to think of it. I missed out on High school.

My thoughts were interrupted with a husky growl as Pete tore rapidly down the hall frustratedly.

"Damn," I thought disappointedly to myself, "Missed my chance."

But little did I know that later that night, I'd undergo two major surprises that I'd never forget.


	7. One Day, Robots Will Cry

* * *

"Goodnight," I said somewhat raspy to my wonderful caretakers as I made my way into my room. Stepping inside, I quietly observed the details of the room that I'd failed to acknowledge earlier in my outburst and confusion. There were satiny black curtains covering the windows. There was never too much light in this place; that was certain. There wasn't any carpeting but this place seemed to be temporary so it's not like I planned on judging the lack of warmth. In fact, I kinda liked the dreary interior because it coveted the warmth inside of all the misery. 'Not too shabby,' I thought approvingly as I laid 'my' pajamas onto the bed. It was weird because I was kind of being forced to wear Jess's clothes because I wasn't allowed to get clothes from my place. Even if I was, I couldn't lead them there. It's like a graveyard there and they'd probably abandon me right there. How suspicious is a hundred dead bodies in a abandoned post office? Seriously, Bill needs to clean up after himself once in awhile. Stupid vampires… The images of the dead residue in the office faded into my head and I shivered underneath the blanket I was wrapped in. The room felt colder as I shook the blanket off of me and slid the black turtleneck top over my tank top. Sighing, I questioned myself with a hint of regret, 'What have I gotten myself into?'

I slid into bed as I leaned over to click off the light. The room was pitch dark except for the bit of light that shone in from the crease of the door, that I'd failed to shut all the way. Lying there, I stared at the ceiling, too dark for me to see anything else as I tried to fall asleep.

But as my eyelids sunk drowsily into a comatose state, a whisper cut like glass into the silence. In fact, it sounded more like thousands of whispers, all echoing against the concrete floor, gradually going louder and louder. Sitting up alertly, I whipped my head around to look for the source of this supernatural encounter. But the answer came in a swoop of fire as a little piece of paper erupted from the flames and floated down onto my lap. It lit up in the dark as the familiar calligraphy burned across the paper clearly written,_"Don't be afraid to lose yourself in the moment. It won't last long anyway. Sincerely, William" _

As soon as the words became clear, they vanished as the note burned to ashes in my hands, leaving no trace that it ever existed. I gritted my teeth furiously. I hate him so much but there's nothing I can do to save these people from the terrible fate that Bill had planned from the beginning. My name is Amber Beckett. I couldn't hide that forever. They'd find out soon enough…

That's it. I could not let myself get attached to anyone in this household. No one.

Suddenly, a hand reached over my mouth and I screamed. The hand was cold but turned warm at the touch of my skin. A loud and harsh "SHHH" came from the person, whom I immediately recognized as Pete. I didn't make another sound, for fear he'd get angry. My experience with Bill had taught me never to piss off a vampire…too bad I had a big mouth.

Dragging me down the cold hallway, he brought me to his chamber with no further explanation. His room was lit dimly with a florescent light bulb dangling loosely from the ceiling. The room was absolutely freezing as my skin prickled with goosebumps. There was a chair sitting below the light bulb in front of a coffin. There were candles lit randomly around the room…He must've planned this earlier…

He planted me into the chair strictly before tying me up with a rope. Rolling my eyes, I fought the urge to say something ruthlessly sarcastic. By the time he finished the knot, stepping backwards, he spoke lowly, "Welcome to my one-on-one interrogation. I ask the questions and you answer them. Got it?"

I stared at him blankly before slipping the comment I'd planned for earlier, "I think you've been watching too many movies. Is all this exaggeration really necessary?"

He chuckled mutely to himself before answering, "Just let me have my fun, okay?"

"Oh fine, have it your way then. I'll be your obedient crime suspect if you'll stop being so cliché," I smirked while looking around at his scented candles. I think it was worth a grimace at his 'role-playing' attempt to get answers out of me. But little did he know, he had another thing coming.

"This is serious, Amber," he said deeply, making each hair on my neck stand on end as he said my name with a full grace. I swallowed nervously, wondering what was so important that he had to drag me out of bed for it. "Fine, get on with it then," I muttered impatiently. He took that as his hint to get serious as he was about to ask his first question, the bags under his eyes being the only thing I could see on his face as he admitted, "I know more about you than you think I know. But while you're here, I might as well get you to be honest. So, won't you explain to me why you were in that alley at that particular time of day?"

I swallowed hard, hoping that he wouldn't discover the slight panic in my eyes as I retorted an attempt to divert the subject to himself rather than at me, "Only if you became a vampire."

He shot a hard glare straight at me, my skin feeling as hot as if someone were shooting a million daggers at me. Obviously, I hit a weak point.

"You have no right to know about that, now just tell me the truth before I have to dig it out of your head," he growled, his glare never lifting. I swallowed and answered, realizing that I was being rude and that I really shouldn't push Pete to his limit because he wasn't human- which meant he could easily invade my mind…which would be BAD.

"Okay," I sighed before admitting, "I was meeting my brother so we could talk about some private business."

I hoped he wouldn't ask any more questions about what 'business' was, but maybe he'd back off that subject. His stare loosened up a little and he asked, "Do you know anything about who attacked you?"

I bit my lip nervously, the answer encased in my mind, and lied falsely like a naïve girl, "No, fill me in on what you know about them."

His stare had faced the far wall behind me now, since he was standing up. He then sighed and answered in a low snarl, "William Beckett."

The way he hissed the name itself was enough to terrify me. I shivered as my face grew hot with paranoia as I remembered William's cocky smile and black eyes. I'd never forget those eyes…

"We've been after him for years…" Pete continued to say, his eyes glued to the floor. I stared at my feet shakily before finding the nerve to ask, "Exactly who are 'we'?"

"We're...uh, wow. I just realized we don't have an official name," he chuckled cutely in a way that made his teeth not look so scary. He almost comes across like a normal human when he smiles like that. Almost.

Pete's smile faded away though as he stared down at me, sitting helplessly tied to a chair. He tied me to a fucking chair! It's not like I'd run off screaming bloody murder. It was just him. It's not like he was _that _scary. Okay, maybe he was just a little bit. But still, I scowled at him bitterly as I squirmed underneath the ropes, which were now burning my arms.

Pete stared gloomily, _lifelessly_, towards the dark corner of his room before surprising me with what sounded **almost **like an apology, "I didn't mean for it to be like this…but I have something I've been wanting to say to you since I first saw you…"

My eyes grew huge as I struggled to take in exactly what he was trying to say to me. Could it be…

"You see, I kinda…knew who you were before this because I…" he stuttered blankly, as if trying to figure out how to word it. He paused abruptly before rubbing his face with his palm tensely.

"Yeah?" I pressed, curious to why he looked so uneasy all of a sudden. But right when he went to say something, the door burst open and an angry Patrick burst into the room, wearing only boxers as his white legs glowed through the darkness.

Patrick looked flustered as he shouted, "Pete, the alarm in the lab went off! We've got company outside the hid-" he paused when he saw me tied to the chair, "what the hell is going on here?"

Pete stood deathly silent, flabbergasted from the intrusion as Patrick rolled his eyes and muttered, "We'll talk about this later."

Then he ran out hurriedly leaving Pete and I remaining awkwardly quiet. I laughed out, "Caught in the act."

He sighed before untying my ropes sheepishly. As my arms were freed, I asked hastily, "What were you going to say?"

Pete exhaled a huge sigh before shouting a frustrated, "Forget I said anything!" and disapparating into thin air. Standing up alertly, I ran to the hall to find Jess and Andy running out of their rooms. Stopping them, I shouted, "Hey, what can I do?"

"_**You're **_not doing anything," Jess retorted, sending a fierce glare my direction, "_**You're **_staying here like a good girl and not attempting to leave! You got it? Cuz' if you leave, you can bet that I'll hunt you down and force feed you your internal organs in alphabetical order!"

Andy shot a wide-eyed stare at Jess before playfully asking, "Did you just make that up?"

Jess chuckled and said, "Yeah," before they pranced down the hall excitedly. Once everyone had disappeared and the house was empty, I sprinted towards the living room window to watch the event unfold. What else was I supposed to do while they went and fought vampires?

I stood up and watched to see a vast amount of vampires compared to the five hunters standing now fully dressed as they stood small against the pavement. The vampires moved so fast that it was hard to tell if they were winning or losing. But then Pete appeared out of nowhere, throwing back four vampires into a building without even touching them. His eyes glowed fiercely as he ripped out a stake and hurled it at a vampire that had knocked Patrick into a mailbox. The vampire exploded into dust as Patrick hopped up holding his ribcage from the blow. Picking up the stake, Patrick started sprinting towards Jess, who had around ten vampires pummeling her into the ground.

Once he was there, he held the stake firmly, staking it through each vampire, ripping it out and moving on to the next like a psycho until there were nothing but ashes around her. Wow, the short guy had maaaaad skills.

She hopped up and mouthed a "thanks" before proceeding to kick the ass of a vampire that had gotten a hold of her throat.

Meanwhile, a large muscled beast of a vampire lunged himself at Joe who was busy prying a vampire off of his leg. Realizing the extreme danger radiating off this scenario, he knocked the vampire off his leg by kicking the large guy in the stomach, which shot a stabbing pain through his knees, judging by his fatal expression.

Crying out in pain, he forcefully grabbed the guy by his ankles, knocking him onto his back, where Joe hovered over, and staked him through the heart blindly.

The guy exploded in dust and Joe's eyes rolled to the back of his head, fainting after he looked down to see a bone sticking out slightly underneath his kneecap.

Andy witnessed this, and cried out, "Joe!" as he ran over and identified his friend's injury before pulling out a vial containing a lime green concoction. Pulling the cork out, he poured some of it into Joe's mouth before putting it back into his satchel.

While witnessing this scene, my blood boiled furiously. Knowing that I'd get anxious only watching the action unfold, I turned away from the window and walked backed to the place that would become my room…

There were shouts of glee as the gang filed back into the hideout, some of them plopping tiredly onto the couches while the rest went to Patrick's experiment room, ignoring the lack of presence from their vampire friend who disappeared from the scene, locking himself in his chamber.

* * *

"_Patrick, it's been a week…and you said if I had any issues to report but…I still don't think we should be keeping her here anymore. She hasn't done anything wrong but…I have a bad vibe coming from her. I-"_

"_Shhhh, I understand your concern but Pete insists that we should give her training. I don't know what's going on in his head but I know he's hiding an important piece of info from us."_

Pete curled himself into a ball as he held himself in the darkest shadow of his sleeping chamber. With eyes shut, he absorbed the private conversation going on in the other room between Patrick and Jess. They were definitely right, he thought to himself. They were onto him and it'd only be a short amount of time before they found out…especially if Amber were to become a member of the team.

* * *

"_Pete!" she screamed, the amount of panic in her voice sending the most petrifying sensation across his body. He turned to see her body crashing hard onto the pavement, collapsing into a ball of flesh. His barely beating heart halted to a stop and for a moment, it felt as if his veins would explode._

_And like that, the power inside of him burst out in a wicked flame and his self control barrier snapped. Picking up a parked vehicle, he hurled the object at the creator of this tragedy, only to find himself face to face with the man himself. _

"_Goodnight, Peter," his voice rang ending with a flash of light as the car crumpled to the ground echoing loudly._

My eyes forced themselves open and all I could hear was a horrible screech echoing across the room. My body grew cold as my sweaty skin became exposed to the night air. Goosebumps rose from the chest and all over as I sat up and took a couple of deep breaths to try to clear my head.

And with that, I forced my eyes shut again exhaling a loud growl as I plunged myself back into the darkness of my coffin.

"Just go back to sleep," I told myself as I slipped back attempting to fall into a sleeplike state. That is….until a voice cut through the silence.

"Pete," Jess's familiar voice sounded across the room. Her voice sounded calm despite the circumstances as she neared the side of my coffin, "Can we talk?"

"We are," I emitted lowly, a pinch of sarcasm in my voice. I could see her roll her eyes through the dark as she huffed, "You get what I mean."

"Go on," I said seriously. She nodded and bit her lip as if she were trying to find the right words to say but ended up simply stating sternly, "You lied to Patrick. You told him the nightmares stopped. The man relies on what you tell him and you never tell him the truth anymore! What's going on, Pete?"

I exhaled at her sincerity and my knowing of how well she knew Patrick. It was creating a sense of guilt deep inside this heartless form of mine.

"I want to," I admitted thoroughly, "But I can't. These dreams are getting worse by the minute and I just know they mean something but-"

"Pete," Jess interrupted my ranting sternly, "I know you don't think he understands you but he sure as hell tries. He's closer to you than anyone in the world. Why can't you trust him with this?"

"I…I…don't have an excuse. You're absolutely right," I broke and sighed,

"Did he say something to you?"

She shook her head and said wholeheartedly, "No. But I know it's eating at him. I can feel it."

"You mean you can dig in his head for answers," I stated bluntly, correcting her "girly" description. You forget, she's not full human you know?

"Shut up! You totally ruined that moment," she spat bitterly before gazing shyly at the floor.

A warm feeling appeared in the pit of my stomach and I grinned consciously, "You really like him, huh?"

She continued to stare at the floor before muttering a discrete, "Mhmm."

"That's cute. Why don't you tell him?"

"Tell him? That's insane! I couldn't…it'd ruin the working relationship we've established," she stuttered nervously. Who would've thought that after all she's been through, she'd be so worked up over confessing her feelings.

"It's not like he'd reject you…" I mumbled, rolling my eyes at her teenager-like anxieties.

Jess stared distantly through me, imagining a corny romance scene in her head, that was to make me gag.

"Eww, stop thinking mushy thoughts before I vomit," I sputtered playfully before she sighed and said honestly, "I really don't want to tell him. I'm just happy being close to him. I guess I have you to thank for that."

She smiled warmly, her teeth glowed pearly white as she reminisced the past that we'd almost forgotten.

I chuckled nervously for the first time in forever, "Let's not go over that story again."

She smirked and said, "Don't be foolish, Pete. I'm never going to forget it. I mean, after all, you're the reason I got away from Beckett. You're a great friend, Pete. But you're a terrible liar."

I laughed modestly and answered, "You would've done the same for me."

She rolled her eyes before emitting, "Well, you need your rest if you want your leg to heal so I'm going back to sleep. But don't forget about our promise, okay?"

"Fine, I'll talk to him," I growled before sinking into my coffin and falling to sleep.


	8. Y'all with the Vampire Squad

"Alright, I've never really trained anyone before so I'm sorry if this isn't easy," Pete admitted as he handed me a couple of stakes. Pointing to the target clear across the room, he coughed and explained, "Basically, you throw the stake at the center of the target through the heart. Here, I'll show you."  
He picked up a stake and allowed me to stand back as he used his whole body to send it flying across the room, nailing the target dead on.  
I stared with wide eyes before exclaiming, "How am I supposed to do that?"  
Pete sighed dreamily and walked over, keeping a few steps behind ne as he instructed me further.  
"Try throwing it with your body, not just your shoulders. Like this," he instructed as he firmly gripped my right arm before propping it into a straight position. He slightly slanted himself so his weight was on me. I could my heartbeat racing as a tingling sensation shocked my insides making heat rise to my cheeks.  
"Don't be such a girl," he grumbled, taking a few steps back. Sighing, I knew it was evident that he'd noticed my hesitation to his touch. I couldn't help it though. Rolling my eyes, I retorted, "Well, sorry to inform you, Pete, but I am a girl last time I checked."  
He rolled his eyes in disgust before returning his focus towards the target on the far wall.  
Pete and I hadn't had much direct contact since the first day I stayed here. It was like he was avoiding me but I didn't really understand why. I just wanted to talk to him more. He made me want to know more about vampires. He was so mysterious...but how that intrigued me so.  
There was a moment of awkward silence, agitating my thoughts until I pitched a question that had penetrating my mind.  
"What's it like being a vampire?"  
Pete looked up, thoroughly disgusted to why I would ask such a trite question, but answered sensitively, while staring at the floor, "It's like living in a nightmare. Everyday I wake up, and it's as if I'm consumed by darkness because it's the only way I can stay alive."  
I stared at the ground hollowly, before chucking another stake at the target on the far wall. I wasn't really sure how to respond. His answer hadn't quite been what I expected at all.  
"It must be hard," I whispered faintly finally after thinking it over; acknowledging the fact that getting turned is far from the exciting ambition that most humans are so arrogant to assume. Pete's eyes lightened and his lips curved into what could appear to be a smile. Chuckling now, he replied, "Not many people say that. I guess, that's calming to hear that someone has sympathy for a monster."  
There was silence for minute before I muttered, "I don't think you're a monster."  
Pete stared through me what seemed to me as possibly one of the most saddest look I'd ever seen. It looked like he pitied me for not reacting like every other person would. He didn't say another word about it. Instead, he turned around, his back faced to me as he ignored my comment and further instructed as he walked to the punching bag, "To be a good vampire hunter, you have to realize that all it takes is one wrong movement and your life is on the line. Vampires are much stronger than humans so you have to understand that your tactics must be dead on or else you could die."  
I swallowed loudly at his seriousness, earning a lighthearted laugh. However, he further explained, "It's not quite that intense but if you're going to throw some punches at a vampire, you better be prepared for consequences. The key is to not think about fear. Because thinking about the fear will keep you from staking your enemy."  
"I see," I said, comprehending his words, "So, let me try to fight you."  
Pete rubbed his head skeptically and admitted, "I don't think you're quite ready to fight me. So, that's why you're going to practice on this!" before pointing at the punching bag with an overenthusiastic smile. I stared blankly at him.  
He chuckled nervously before saying, "Okay, so we have a virtual reality helmet that will create random scenarios that we've faced. It's just one on one combat so don't use your stakes. Just start on this by throwing complete and straight punches at the bag. Feel free to add a couple of kicks too."  
I rolled my eyes and nodded as I put the virtual reality helmet over my head and took off my jacket.  
As Pete turned on the virtual reality device, I found myself standing on an abandoned looking boat dock surrounded by a bunch of boarded boxes. As I looked around, I heard a loud screech coming from beside me as the virtual reality helmet turned its view towards the sound. The sound was so terrifying that my body couldn't even react before there in front of my face stood the ugliest vampire I'd ever seen. At the back of my mind, Pete's advice lingered in my thoughts.  
_The key is to not think about fear. Because thinking about the fear will keep you from staking your enemy._  
I hurled a half-witted punch at it, expecting it to take critical effect. Except, it wasn't even phased as it shot a punch at me nailing me in the face as the screen flashed red.  
In reality, I could hear Pete yell, "You have to hit really hard!"  
So, I sent a full blow to the jaw making it fly backwards. Pete chuckled and said, "Nice punch. But remember to throw straight punches or you'll break your wrist."  
I nodded briefly before getting into my fight zone and kicking vampire ass left and right until Pete finally said, "Let's give it a rest for today."  
Obediently, I pulled the virtual reality helmet off my head and heaved an exhausted sigh before looking up at Pete instinctively for the next lesson. Sending a sympathetic smile, he emitted, "I think you're a little beat for today. Maybe we should do some more target practice tomorrow."  
"No!" I said urgently, as he grimaced a shocked look on his face as I lightly explained, "I... like practicing with you. I want to be able to fight by your side next time instead of sitting on the sidelines."  
His eyebrows raised but his tone remained the same as he replied, "You should really get some rest. I'd rather train you at your best than train you to death. Now go."  
I huffed a frustrated sigh as I did as I was told and left the room. Not even realizing the state of mind I'd left Pete in...all because of that question.


	9. The Flashback

_The very first time that I ever heard of vampires was on the night Beckett changed me. Before, I'd never even known they'd existed. I was just an arrogant human forced to live in the slums of a city that never slept. I didn't believe in vampires or half-breeds or any of that. In fact, the thought never even occurred to me that there was any nightly activity going on other than going to parties and bums getting wasted on the streets.  
I was so blind to the truth, it was hard to believe that I ever survived...up until that night. It was just another sleepless night and I was overran with insomnia. Tired of getting nowhere, I finally just stormed out of my apartment where I lived with my three band mates.  
Little did I know, my life would never be the same.  
The night glowed from street lights and fires built in random pits of abandoned buildings. Sure, it was a crappy neighborhood, but I called it home. Walking the streets wearily, I found comfort in the depths of an alleyway.  
But this alley was not like the rest. Prior to approaching it, I felt something tugging at my insides, telling me to walk down the alley. Ignorant as I was, I argued my thinking that it must've been some sort of set up for some guys to mug me or something. But of course, that wasn't the case.  
I ended up going down the alley, despite common thinking. It felt like death itself was hiding in these walls. And that's when they all came out of nowhere. Men in gray suits, and funny-looking hats. My first instinct was to laugh and make a snide comment about their terrible sense of fashion. But I swallowed my words, for as they grew closer, eying me mischievously, I noticed something wrong. They held no weapons of any kind, no guns, no knives. Just fangs that shone bright under the rays of moonlight. My body was frozen solid as the gut wrenching fear took a hold of me. Terrified, I tried to run away from them, greatly outnumbered against the mass group of minions. I couldn't defend myself against so many.  
And good God, they were fast as lightning.  
A large sharp pain was emerged as one vampire struck a blow to the lower end of my spinal chord. It felt like I was getting electrocuted from the intense amount of pain throbbing through my system as I crashed to the ground.  
Expecting to be mobbed the minions, I found it rather strange that the group cleared a way for one man. The leader.  
Paralyzed from the pain, I crumbled as the man stood above me, watching me closely with a sick smile on his face. He bent down and rolled me on my back to face him face-to-face. For the very first time in my life, I was petrified. I was going to die. My thoughts ran wild.  
He had black eyes that pierced through my thoughts, sending a hundred disturbing images of his victims corpses spiraling through my brains. The pain of his mind control was excruciating.  
It was a diversion to keep my mind occupied while he expressed his loathe for such creatures who could not protect himself.  
After moments of useless rambling, he grabbed my collar and whispered, "You can be resourceful to my army. You've got plenty of character. Will you join me?"  
My mouth tasted of blood, but I shook my head in reply for words would not the answer.  
"Then, I'll make you suffer for eternity," he spoke angrily as his vicious thirst overwhelmed him. He forced an open palm onto my chest, pressing violently, the pressure making a loud cracking sound.  
An unrecognizable scream burst out of me as William opened his mouth wide and pressed his fangs onto my neck.  
The sensation was indescribable. The second his fangs penetrated the flesh, my body went limp and cold but I could still feel my nerve endings spiraling throughout my body as I was slipping away from mortality. It fekt like my blood was on fire. I couldn't cry out or move my body. But I remember thinking the words, "Please kill me," over and over again in my mind.  
My vision was charcoal black. I could not keep consciousness through the suffering.  
When I opened my eyes again, the alley was cleared. But something was terribly wrong. My eyes bared a strange reddish tint and my surroundings were incredibly sharper than anything humans could comprehend. Everything was clear and baring colors I'd never seen before. The dark was grainier and excruciatingly vivid. Silently, I noted every single thing in the alley and nothing was dark anymore. As I stood up, my arms shook weakly and the burning sensation coursed through my veins like a thousand knifes were stabbing my body as my skin grew colder and colder.  
I looked down to see my bloodstained shirt was glowing against the lightened night. There were sharp fangs protruding from inside my mouth and a dreadful feeling overcame me. My ribs ached but seemed to heal themselves after a few short moments.  
Trying to remember what happened. That's when the face of that long-haired smug bastard appeared in my mind. When I thought of him, my body pulsed with a ferocious anger and a roar escaped my chest. I'd never had a sensation like that. The thought of using it on others terrified me.  
Through my ears, I could hear wolves howling from miles away and I could hear whispers and cries of countless people. It was a haunting sense.  
These new feelings mortified me to the point where I couldn't do anything else but run as far as I can. Somewhere I can hide and forget this ever happened.  
Vampires weren't supposed to exist...and now, I was one of them.  
What would I tell the guys? And worse, how would they react?  
My brain felt like it would explode if I thought about it any longer. I kept running, my body shivering as I came to a halt.  
A tingly feeling startled me as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on. That was when I noticed a familiar group of vampires who'd attacked me earlier huddled around a van glowing in their large masses.  
But I also noticed something else. There was a girl. She was fairly pretty, with dark brown hair, painted red lips, with a slender figure. She looked scared to death of these creatures surrounding her. Curious to know what was going on, I crept across the street and hid behind a large pole. I was a good ten feet away from them but with my new senses, their conversation was picked up loud and clear.  
"We need no further assistance from the likes of you, mortals," William spoke calmly grinning like the mad man he was. The girl was much smaller than the rest of that group of vampires so she wore a panicked expression on her face. She merely muttered, "You used me..."  
"Oh! Aren't you the sharp human?" one of the male vampires sneered, whose name I soon learned was Brendon. He chuckled before William turned to him justly and commanded calmly, "Get rid of her."  
"How, boss?" Brendon asked obediently. William chuckled cruelly and stated, "Be creative."  
With that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
Brendon then smacked her solidly across her face and a scream was heard as he knocked her to the ground and started beating her senseless. Brendon then grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pressed her against the van and opened his mouth widely over her neck, about to take bite.  
Instinctively, I stepped out without thinking up a plan or anything. I did the hero thing and now their attention was focused on me.  
"Hey!" I shouted as they stood off of their initial victim and faced me, "Leave her alone."  
Brendon grinned thirstily and scoffed, "You're the freak we offed earlier! What are you doing here challenging us? Shouldn't you be running home and crying?"  
I felt afraid as they all surrounded me surreptitiously. But the fear didn't stop me from doing what was right. It all happened so fast. Brendon jumped at me and my vampire instinct took over.  
I leapt high into the air over his head and tossed a punch at him. But man, he was quick. In a minute flat, he had me pinned on the ground as he taunted, "Welcome to the afterlife, noobie!"  
Glaring, I sent a straight fist straight towards his smug face, hearing a loud crack as he fell backwards, blood rushing down his face. I soared upwards onto my feet and kneed him hard in the gut, before ruthlessly throwing him against the brick. The brick smashed as the body crushed against it and he crumbled to the ground and disappeared in a puff of smoke. I stared at my hand in shock, amazed at my sudden strength before confidently hurling myself at the rest of the vampires.  
Before I knew it, the battle was over as I made my way towards the girl, who'd watched the battle with eyes wide and jaw dropped.  
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked concernedly observing her wounds closely. She brushed herself off and said nervously, "Never felt better," before chuckling slightly at the irony of the situation.  
"I really thought that was the end for me back there. Thanks for helping me. So...who are you anyway?" she asked.  
"My name is...My name is..." I struggled to say, a bloodthirsty instinct overwhelming my body and burning flames into the back of my throat. I hungered for her. And in my eyes, she was not a person I care enough for to let prosper. My eyes flickered venomously. My stomach wavered nauseously and I could feel my lips trembling. I looked up at the girl, whose panicked expression grimaced at my strange behavior. Staring up into those big brown eyes didn't help at all. Something took over and I couldn't fight it.  
I had gripped onto her a hug of some sort, forcefully pulling her neck towards my mouth and growing intoxicated by the unavoidable scent of living blood gushing through her. She screamed, "What are you doing? I-I..."  
Her voiced trailed off as I sunk my teeth into her flesh inaudibly to the sounds of her terror. The blood slimed into my mouth like a river and dripped out the sides of my mouth down my chin. The bloodthirsty effect had worn off as soon as I drank her blood, and I stared with horror at her dropped corpse lying dead on the pavement in front of me.  
My head screamed, "I killed her! I killed someone!" as a sharp pain penetrated my chest.  
Then the uncontrollable bawling commenced. How could I have let myself get like this? I've become a monster.  
Sobbing like a lunatic, I ran as fast as I could to my apartment, where I broke down indignantly.  
"Pete?" Patrick had walked in before screaming at the sight of my blood-soaked shirt  
"What did you DO?" he exclaimed with wide eyes and a panicked look on his face, "Did you get in a fight?"  
I looked up at him seriously and bared my fangs. He stepped back away from me and stuttered, "H-how is this possible?"  
I shook my head and stared at the floor, "I don't know. But I...I bit someone, Trick... I killed a girl. I'm not a murderer! I don't know how this happened to me!"  
"Okay, dude. Calm down. I'm going to wake up the guys. Just don't...bite anyone," he muttered as he ran to wake up Joe and Andy. I sighed hard, trying to comprehend all that was happening.  
Patrick and the guys would help me, right? They wouldn't turn their backs on me...now that I was inhuman.  
"Okay Pete, I think I understand what is going on. My dad used to tell me stories about vampires...and he left me this book," Patrick explained as he walked into the room, a large ancient-looking book in hand, followed by Andy and Joe. A smirk made its way onto my lips. Leave it to Trick to have things all figured out.  
Patrick sighed tiredly as he turned on a light before saying, "I've never told you guys but...my dad was part of a group whose goal was to defend the people from the vampires. So, I knew about their existence."  
Andy eyed the text of the book wearily before asking, "Well, can we form a group like that?"  
"I really think we should," he answered boldly, "They took one of our best friends and made him into one of their kind. We have to defend the public from the vampires!"  
Joe and Andy looked at each other nervously as Andy admitted, "This is kinda like a comic book."  
"But this time," Patrick smiled a cheesy grin, "We get to save the world."  
A muffled laugh came from my throat as I giggled at Patrick's lame attempt at heroism. But he was right. We had to rise against this common threat that filled the streets of Chicago.  
Then suddenly realization pitted Patrick's enthusiasm as he remembered their dilemma. Their best friend was a vampire who had absolutely no control of his appetite. But this was only the start of our accommodating little hunting group. Only the start..._


	10. Starstruck

_I always feel like somebody's watchin' me  
And I have no privacy  
I always feel like somebody's watchin' me  
Tell me is it just a dream?_

"We're all going to go hunting tonight," Patrick announced after weeks of vampire inactivity. Pete had been strictly training Amber for weeks but was unable to convince himself that he'd be able to protect her if anything had gone wrong. So when Patrick suddenly made the announcement, Pete was furious.  
Pete stomped into Patrick's lab with a huff as he plopped himself down on the chair. Immediately, he growled, "Do we have anything that can make sure she'll be safe?"  
"Dude, I already told you, she'll be fine. I really think she's ready. Have a little faith, man," Patrick answered for the millionth time this week, rolling his eyes as he loaded a net into his gun. Everyone on the team knew that Patrick's word was law, and Pete could only demand change for so long before he'd have to give up.  
"Nothing can happen to her, Trick," he said lowly, stating it as if he knew something more than what he'd let on. Patrick raised an eyebrow before asking, "I know Pete...but what else can I really do? I can only give her as much protection as all of us have got. We're all human."  
Pete eyes flickered as he stood up and muttered, "Yeah...human," before scoffing out of the room and out into the living quarters where his fellow teammates preparing for a night on the town.  
Jess stood in the corner, thoroughly watching over Amber as she equipped herself with a belt of stakes and other equipment. With all seriousness on her face, she turned to Pete as he walked in the room, and said, "It's a pretty big group, Wentz. You might wanna take it easy tonight if you don't want another stake in your leg."  
Pete nodded before looking at Andy, then over to Joe with the same secured expression simply speaking, 'Do not let her out of your sight'. By this point, Pete's over protectiveness throughout the past few days had been eerily getting on Amber's nerves, but at this moment, after seeing the worried look on Pete's face, she suddenly realized what she'd gotten herself into. Now she was as worried as he was.  
"Ah, so much confidence in this room," Jess allured keenly as she stretched her arms above her head, "Don't worry so much, it'll be fine. Besides, aren't you guys excited to be out again?"  
"I know I am. But enough stalling! To the bat-mobile!" Joe agreed as they headed to their vehicle, so uniquely designed with a clandestine bat decorating the hood.  
"The bat-mobile?" Amber inquired with a laugh as she made her way into the backseat. Behind her, Jess, Andy, and Patrick got into the backseat with her as Pete sat in the front with Joe driving. As they drove, Amber suddenly remembered how she'd come to be in her living situation with this collective group of vampire hunters. 'What if Bill is there?' she thought to herself worriedly as she gripped the seat in front of her.  
Jess noticed the sudden change in Amber's behavior as she reassured, "It'll be alright; nothing is going to get you as long as we're around."  
"I kinda wish something would," she murmured into the window as she wallowed in the guilt of being part of a plan she knew would cause severe consequence to this loyal group of friends. Then she shook her head and told herself, 'No, don't think about it. It's another mission to fulfill. Bill is my brother and these people have no idea who I am. This is going to work.'  
Squinting to relieve the guilt she'd built up on herself, she briefly flashed back on her previous encounter with William.  
_"Have they figured out who you are?" his deep yet smoothly collective voice echoed questionably against the silent atmosphere of a private place in the city where Amber had managed to sneak a fair distance from where the actual headquarters were hidden. Swallowing tiredly, Amber leaned against the brick of the entrance to the rooftop section of the abandoned post office she knew all too well.  
"No, they have no idea," she replied lowly, a tone of either extreme discomfort with the topic of choice or pure apathy towards her most recent crime.  
"Are you absolutely positive about this?"  
"Yes, they think I'm just a victim of your actions. They've trained me to become one of them."  
Her eyes shifted darkly as William's voiced hummed in approval as he stepped out of the shadows and stepped into the light cascading off the moon.  
His fangs glistened a pearly white as he grinned his infamous smirk, a million emotions spiraling through Amber's thoughts as she struggled to keep herself from making any sounds that would hint towards her fear. The truth was that he could kill her in such torturous ways that the human mind could not comprehend. And it was because of this fear, that she learned that it was safer to succumb to whatever his commands were. She shared part of his bloodline; and an unfair quirk to sharing a bloodline with a vampire was the unfortunate control the oldest child could have. Complete control. Fighting it only made the hold he had on her decision even more powerful. An invisible string that could bend or break her thoughts and opinions with a few words.  
Of course, there were exceptions for getting around this. But it made things a lot easier for Amber to just convince herself she's supposed to be an outlaw. Therefore, her personalities weren't split in two.  
The last time Amber had fought against William and spilt her true feelings about who he was, he'd beaten her senseless. She'd come home covered in purple bruises and infected wounds so gruesome that no one would want to ever endure that kind of pain ever again. And she refused to let her emotions get the best of her from then on. She overcame the overwhelming hurt that once consumed her. She'd grown to be accustomed to such profanity.  
"See you around, little sister," William alleged as he disappeared with another trace into the night sky. _

"Amber? Amber!" a voice snapped as she urged back to reality. Inhaling a breath, she saw Jess beside her, shooting her a worried expression as she said, "We've arrived at our destination. Where the heck did you go?"  
With a nervous laugh, Amber replied, "Sorry, guess I kind of spaced out for a second there."  
Jess smiled but held a disturbingly worrisome expression as she stepped back out of the car to let Amber get out.  
And then the creatures sprung all at once.


	11. Sahara

___A ballad of dark queen echoes through night  
As he flees the curse of gods, the pharaoh's wrath_

1001 nights unseen  
The philosopher and the queen

**Amber's Point of View**  
"Shit!" Joe cried out as a platinum blonde vampire with flashing red eyes tackled him, blowing him ten feet into a brick wall. My heart raced as I saw everyone on the team suddenly in full combat with vampires that were inches off from taking each one of their lives. The fear had sunk in and my body wouldn't move. I was frozen.  
"Amber? Hahaha boys, it's just Bill's little sister! She wouldn't hurt her own kind now, would she?" a voice snickered from behind me. I felt their presence increasing as they circled me as one inched forward laughing, "I don't think Bill would mind if I just have a taste right?"  
After that, my mind blanked and suddenly, I couldn't see anything at all.  
"Amber, move!" I heard Pete scream building from beside me, his voice penetrating through my fear like a smack to the face as I suddenly jumped into gear. I ducked and slid onto my knees, as the anonymous vampire flew over me, missing me by only a few seconds.  
My hand immediately reached for the stake on my belt loops as I ripped it from its sheath and swung it acrobatically merely an arms length from my face, unconsciously staking three vamps who had me cornered against the car.  
As I looked up, the entire group was hundreds of feet split apart as they were all preoccupied fighting their own battles. And just when I thought I could breathe for a moment, that's when they had me.  
A snarl burst from all around and a hand had wrapped itself around my mouth, preventing me from screaming as we suddenly vanished from where we were.  
My body felt inferior as their lightning speed had taken us nearly three blocks from where the rest of the team was. My body shook with terror as they pressed me against the wall so tight, I could feel my ribs cracking. I tried to scream to fight the pain but they had me silenced by simply pressing on my newly damaged ribs to keep me quiet. My eyes watered rivers down my face as I looked into the eyes of my enemy.  
But it wasn't who I thought it would be.  
"So, you think it's funny to kill the very people you're working for? Try this on for size, you damn traitor!" Brendon growled as he forced my head backwards, a sharp crack sounding as my head made smashing contact with the wall. There was a loud screech that seemed to be getting louder and louder as my vision switched into my worst nightmares. The sound was unbearable and it made it really hard to understand what was going on around. And that's when it hit me.  
The person screaming was me.  
In the blackness of my mind, I wanted to be dead. I didn't want to be found out as who I really was. I wanted to die knowing I tried to fight. I tried...I tried...

"Amber! Amber! Wake up!" someone was yelling at me. I knew the voice but throughout the darkness, I could not find where it was coming from. What happened to me? Why was I stuck in the darkness?  
Then suddenly, beneath me the floors had lost their solidness as I started to fall beneath the clouds of true hell. Something had happened to me.  
"Amber, please stop screaming," the voice begged as my eyes flickered open and I felt like I was in my skin again. My body still shook violently as I realized my surroundings. Pete was holding me down against the concrete as if he were controlling someone who had just had a seizure. Patrick, Joe, Andy, and Jess were standing around him, their faces worn and tired as they watched with scared expressions.  
"You're awake," Pete exhaled, relieving his hard grip on my arms as he fell back onto his knees. My lips trembled but I urged myself to ask what happened, the voice that escaped my lips shaky and unrecognizable.  
"Amber...Brendon...h-he," Pete tried to answer but couldn't find the right words to say. I tried to get up so I could look him in the face but my body was paralyzed with the pain. I gave up and laid my head back down.  
"My head hurts," I groaned modestly, obviously not aware of the seriousness of what just happened to me.  
"Amber, your mind was just infiltrated," Patrick answered boldly, the expression on his face blank as he further said, "That move is one of the most lethal tactics used in battle. It has major consequences...especially if the person survives..."  
"Take me home," I sobbed now as the pain increased across my body, "Please."  
"Patrick, we can explain what happened later. Let's go," Pete pressed out, the agony on his face so vividly evident as he slowly attempted to pick me up without hurting me, his icy hands soothing my aching nerves as we disapparated into the night. 


	12. Vampire Heart

_Let me bleed you this song of my heart deformed  
And lead you along this path in the dark  
Where I belong until I feel your warmth_

Hold me like you held on to life  
When all fears came alive and entombed me  
Love me like you loved the sun  
Scorching the blood in my vampire heart

"She's very strong...two broken ribs, a severe concussion, and possibly permanent brain damage," a whisper cut through the eerie silence that filled the halls of the team's hideout as the group waited anxiously in the lab. Patrick stood at the far corner, closest to his bookshelf as he scanned violently through the pages of his most sacred of books. Jess sat closer to him, feeling all too weary at Patrick's anxious search for more knowledge on what the dandies had done.  
"Patrick, I scanned through her mind and everything appears to be going back to normal..." she whispered in reply to his exasperated comment.  
"I just don't understand!" he growled throwing the book down, "Humans aren't suppose to survive that kind of trauma to the brain. Her mind was scrambled, Jess! Half the people who have survived never live a normal life after that happens. Memories are lost, certain body functions become an impossibility! All it says in this book is that the people who survive are prone to convulsions and compulsive retardation. This doesn't make any sense!"  
Pete, overhearing the conversation going on in the lab, was across the hall waiting beside Amber's bedside as he blankly stared at the wall, fury raging in his eyes. Pete knew all too well about who Amber was. Something had protected her...someone. He just didn't want to accept the truth.  
Sighing, he watched her intently as she slept soundly in the dark. She looked somewhat content but clearly in pain as she breathed in and out slowly. Pete didn't know what it was he felt as he waited ever so patiently by her side but deep inside, he knew that he had to protect her secret no matter what.  
If the others found out about her, he shuddered at the concept before shaking his head, No, that won't ever happen.  
His hazel eyes sparkled as the moonlight shined in through the open window and onto Amber's face. As Pete witnessed this, a warm feeling formulated in the pit of his stomach. It was the first sensation of warmth he'd felt in all the years he'd been living his undead lifestyle. It was startling for him as he scooted away from the unconscious body lying in the infirmary section of the hideout. But as he scooted further, the feeling only increased, burning his insides.  
Reaching his arm out to her, he pulled himself as close to her as he could manage comfortably as he grabbed her hand, almost daring his body to react to the feeling of rushing blood pouring through her veins. But strangely, the burning feeling was replaced with a sense of overwhelming calmness. Her hands were so soft and warm against his cold and hard ones, he thought to himself. As he held her hand in his, he stared at the wall almost as if he were waiting on some sort of explanation to why this action comforted him.  
"I'll be right back, okay?" he assured down to Amber as he stood up and walked into the lab where Patrick and Jess had gotten in to a series of arguments over the situation. Pete thought it'd be wise to appease their anxieties.  
"Don't worry yourselves over this blow to history. There's some things better left unknown to the common eye," he said deeply, his eyes scanning for their reaction as they both sighed in relief. Jess replied softly, "She's something special, you know...you've always had a way of attracting some of the strangest of cases, Pete. But this is something I've never heard of in all my years."  
"I know," he shrugged sadly as he stared at the wall, "But I'd like it if you guys concentrated on helping her get better instead of finding out how she survived."  
Patrick frowned disappointedly but agreed reluctantly, "Alright, but it's only because you requested it that I'll let this go. However, I expect a full explanation on why they singled her out for this kind of torture. Can you answer that?"  
"No, I can't," he lied blankly before turning out of the room without another sound as he met Amber at bedside yet again, hoping to soothe her pain with his presence.


End file.
